Guide to FIFA 2007 on the PlayStation 2

The series that made Football (Soccer) games BIG, returns for another instalment, updated for the 2006-2007 season.

Take charge of any one of hundreds of real teams, choose the tactics, the style of play and trade players to get the perfect squad. When the game starts you take control of the nearest player to the ball on your team, with all of the others controlled by the computer.

The game aims to look as close as possible to watching the real thing on television. For the most part you see everything as though viewed from a TV camera mounted high up in the stadium, with close-ups reserved for for replays, throw-ins and other set plays.

FIFA's licence allows them to use real player names, likenesses, stadium, leagues, competitions and players stats. The big name players have had their faces scanned into the game, while the others all look roughly like their real-world counterparts.

Electronic Arts, the makers of this game, promise that this will be more than just a basic update, claiming to have improved how the game plays by adding many new features both large and small.

The first new game feature worth mentioning is the new 'finesse' shot. . Unlike the regular 'Laces' shot or the cheeky little 'chip' shot.

Both the 'chip' and 'finesse' shot are performed by holding down the L2 shoulder button and pressing the shoot button. However, if all you do is that button combination then you'll end up with a 'chip' shot all the time.

The 'finesse' shot is activated by first tapping the L2 shoulder button, which readies the player for a classy curling goal attempt with the inside of his boot. The actual attempt on goal is then performed by holding down L2 and pressing shoot. This shot, when performed properly, curls the ball straight into the top corner, guaranteeing a goal every time.

The secret to this shot is knowing which foot a player prefers. For instance, a left-footed player needs to be on his left foot, and shooting from the left side, for maximum power and, more importantly, accuracy. In contrast, a right-footed player needs to be on his right-foot and shooting from the right side, makes sense right?
Although a person who is fully capable with either foot needs to be face on goal to pull of this unstoppable goal scoring opportunity, as opposed to being able to shoot from either side like you would presume.

Running has been improved as well. It may not seem much, but players actually accelerate and decelerate in a far more natural way than in previous versions of FIFA, even allowing the quicker strikers to outrun chasing defenders, rather than always getting caught in possession.

New for this year is the Online Interactive League. It's not a normal league in the sense that you just play random games against random opponents. No, the basis for this league is that, when a team is playing another team in real-life, e.g. Arsenal vs. Chelsea, the fans of those teams play against each other too, and the team with the most wins gains three points.

Other nice touches include the reactions of the supporters. If the home team is losing then the home fans will rightly boo their team, whereas if they are winning by 3 or 4 goals, they will greet every pass with 'olé'. In contrast, only being 1-0 up with only a few minutes left; the home fans will start whistling.

Winning by a good margin will also enter what the developers call 'Glory Mode'. Players will show different, showboating, animations while passing, crossing and shooting.

The graphics aren't as big a leap forward as we would've thought; in fact they're basically the same as FIFA '06. Players are once again realistically modelled on their real-life counterparts. This year's game also had incredibly detailed Stadiums almost making you feel like you're really there.

Your FIFA 2007 Wish List ?

If you have views on a feature or aspect that you would like to see included in 'FIFA 2007' or future sequels of this game, we would love to hear from you. Better still we will pass on the very best of these ideas to the developers of the games and who knows, your wish may be granted..!

This game either pushes the boundaries of it's genre further than ever before on this system, or creates a completely new gaming experience. Either way, it should not be missed and is an essential purchase in our opinion.